Director Victor Sjostrom and stars
Lon Chaney and
Norma Shearer made an impressive team on
He Who Gets Slapped. They came together again for this dour and less interesting film, based on the novel The Emperor of Portugallia by the Swedish author Selma Lagerlof. Jan (Chaney) is a farmer whose hard life is brightened by the birth of a daughter, Glory. Love for the little girl transforms him and his wife, Katrina (
Claire McDowell). The little family faces financial devastation when their landlord dies, and his son withdraws credit from the tenants. To find the 300 dollars her family needs, Glory, now a young woman (played by Shearer), goes to the city. The son follows after her and seduces her. Glory manages to get together the 300 dollars, but when she returns home, the neighbors shun her. Jan is driven mad by the knowledge that his daughter sold her body. Glory is about to leave on a boat when the landlord's son falls into the paddle wheels and dies. Jan tries to follow and is drowned when he falls off the pier. Glory returns and marries August (
William Haines), her childhood sweetheart. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide